Authentication-based printing system and authentication-based printing method for handling print jobs of different formats

ABSTRACT

A system including an authentication unit and an authentication-based print-job generation unit including: a job acquisition module that acquires a print-job in a first format processable by a first printing device and a print-job in a second format processable by a second printing device; a module that acquires printing person identification information; and a module that generates an authentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing person identification information to the acquired print-job, and outputs it to the authentication unit. The authentication unit includes: a module that acquires the authentication-based print-job; a module that extracts the printing person identification information and the print-job, and stores them in a storage module; a module that executes authentication for a user who requests printing execution; a module that selects from the storage module a print-job associated with the printing person identification information for the authenticated user; and a module that outputs the selected print-job.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-274336,filed on Sep. 21, 2005, is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to authentication-based printingtechnology that allows execution of printing upon authentication.

2. Related Art

Authentication-based printing structures, where, to prevent informationleaks and other risks, execution of printing is only allowed for anauthenticated user, have been well known. For example, Japanese PatentNo. 3034160 discloses a structure where a confidential document is notprinted out immediately upon a printing instruction for that document,but is printed out upon a user having been authenticated as anauthorized user, using image data, which has been made based on the datato be printed and stored in the printing device.

In this type of authentication-based printing structure, anauthenticated printing person will be permitted to execute printing onlyfor the print-jobs for which the user has been authorized. Inconventional structures, whether a user has been authorized for aspecific print-job is usually determined by analyzing that print-job toextract the user information, and then using the extracted userinformation.

However, in the current situation, different printer manufacturers uselargely different print-job formats, and one reason for that is thatprinter control languages used for generating print-jobs have beendeveloped independently by those different printer manufacturers andother developers.

Thus, for a printing device accepting print-jobs generated using apublicly disclosed format (or a format defined by the same developerthat developed the printing device), it is possible to realize theabove-mentioned authentication-based printing structure because thoseprint-jobs can be analyzed and the necessary user information can beextracted; whereas it has not been possible to realize thatauthentication-based printing structure for a printing device acceptingprint-jobs generated using a private format, because the necessary userinformation cannot be extracted from those print-jobs.

Furthermore, some print-jobs include no user information, and for aprinting device accepting such print-jobs, the authentication-basedprinting structure obviously cannot be realized even if the formats forthe jobs are publicly disclosed.

SUMMARY

In light of the above, an advantage of some aspects of the invention isto provide an authentication-based printing function for any printingdevice, regardless of whether the print-jobs to be accepted by thatprinting device are based on a publicly disclosed format or not, andalso regardless of whether the print-jobs include user information ornot.

According to an aspect of the invention, provided is anauthentication-based printing system providing an authentication-basedprinting function for both a first printing device and a second printingdevice, including: an authentication-based print-job generation unit;and an authentication unit, wherein the authentication-based print-jobgeneration unit includes: a job acquisition module that is configured tobe able to acquire a print-job in a first format that can be processedby the first printing device and a print-job in a second format that canbe processed by the second printing device, the second format being aformat that cannot be processed by the first printing device or a formatwith no information for specifying a printing person added; a modulethat acquires, with respect to the print-job acquired by the jobacquisition module, identification information for either a user who hasordered that print-job or another user specified as a printing person,as printing person identification information; and a module thatgenerates an authentication-based print-job by adding the acquiredprinting person identification information to the print-job acquired bythe job acquisition module, and outputs the generatedauthentication-based print-job to the authentication unit, and whereinthe authentication unit includes: a module that acquires theauthentication-based print-job; a module that extracts from the acquiredauthentication-based print-job the printing person identificationinformation and the print-job, and stores them in a storage module inassociation with each other; a module that executes authentication for auser who requests execution of printing; a module that refers to thestorage module, and selects a print-job associated with the printingperson identification information for the authenticated user; and amodule that outputs the selected print-job to the first printing deviceor the second printing device.

The authentication unit is preferably configured to include at least oneof the first printing device and the second printing device.

According to the above configuration, the authentication unit can selecta print-job (original print-job) for which an authenticated user hasbeen authorized, by referring to the printing person identificationinformation, without the need to interpret the original print-jobs to behandled by the first printing device or the second printing device.Accordingly, if the original print-jobs are based on a private format,or if the original print-jobs include no user information for specifyingthe printing person, i.e., regardless of the format of the originalprint-jobs, the authentication-based printing function can be properlyprovided for a printing device handling those print-jobs.

According to another aspect of the invention, provided is anauthentication-based print-job generation unit providing, in cooperationwith an authentication unit, an authentication-based printing functionfor both a first printing device and a second printing device, theauthentication unit having functions for acquiring anauthentication-based print-job that is configured to include printingperson identification information and a print-job; extracting from theacquired authentication-based print-job the printing personidentification information and the print-job, and storing them in astorage module in association with each other; executing authenticationfor a user who requests execution of printing; referring to the storagemodule and selecting a print-job associated with the printing personidentification information for the authenticated user; and outputtingthe selected print-job to the first printing device or the secondprinting device, the authentication-based print-job generation unitincluding: a job acquisition module that is configured to be able toacquire a print-job in a first format that can be processed by the firstprinting device and a print-job in a second format that can be processedby the second printing device, the second format being a format thatcannot be processed by the first printing device or a format with noinformation for specifying a printing person added; a module thatacquires, with respect to the print-job acquired by the job acquisitionmodule, identification information for either a user who has orderedthat print-job or another user specified as a printing person, asprinting person identification information; and a module that generatesan authentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing personidentification information to the print-job acquired by the jobacquisition module, and outputs the generated authentication-basedprint-job to the authentication unit.

According to another aspect of the invention, provided is anauthentication unit providing, in cooperation with anauthentication-based print-job generation unit, an authentication-basedprinting function for both a first printing device and a second printingdevice, the authentication-based print-job generation unit havingfunctions for acquiring a print-job in a first format that can beprocessed by the first printing device or a print-job in a second formatthat can be processed by the second printing device, the second formatbeing a format that cannot be processed by the first printing device ora format with no information for specifying a printing person added;acquiring identification information for either a user who has orderedthat acquired print-job or another user specified as a printing person,as printing person identification information; and generating anauthentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing personidentification information to the acquired print-job and outputting thegenerated authentication-based print-job to the authentication unit, theauthentication unit including: a module that acquires theauthentication-based print-job; a module that extracts from the acquiredauthentication-based print-job the printing person identificationinformation and the print-job, and stores them in a storage module inassociation with each other; a module that executes authentication for auser who requests execution of printing; a module that refers to thestorage module, and selects a print-job associated with the printingperson identification information for the authenticated user; and amodule that outputs the selected print-job to the first printing deviceor the second printing device.

According to another aspect of the invention, provided is anauthentication-based printing method for both a first printing deviceand a second printing device, the method including, under the control ofan authentication-based print-job generation unit, acquiring a print-jobin a first format that can be processed by the first printing device ora print-job in a second format that can be processed by the secondprinting device, the second format being a format that cannot beprocessed by the first printing device or a format with no informationfor specifying a printing person added; acquiring, with respect to theacquired print-job, identification information for either a user who hasordered that print-job or another user specified as a printing person,as printing person identification information; and generating anauthentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing personidentification information to the acquired print-job, and outputting thegenerated authentication-based print-job to an authentication unit, themethod also including, under the control of the authentication unit,acquiring the authentication-based print-job; extracting from theacquired authentication-based print-job the printing personidentification information and the print-job, and storing them in astorage module in association with each other; executing authenticationfor a user who requests execution of printing; referring to the storagemodule, and selecting a print-job associated with the printing personidentification information for the authenticated user; and outputtingthe selected print-job to the first printing device or the secondprinting device.

According to another aspect of the invention, provided is a method foroutputting an authentication-based print-job to an authentication unitthat provides an authentication-based printing function for both a firstprinting device and a second printing device, the method including:acquiring a print-job in a first format that can be processed by thefirst printing device or a print-job in a second format that can beprocessed by the second printing device, the second format being aformat that cannot be processed by the first printing device or a formatwith no information for specifying a printing person added; acquiring,with respect to the acquired print-job, identification information foreither a user who has ordered that print-job or another user specifiedas a printing person, as printing person identification information; andgenerating an authentication-based print-job by adding the acquiredprinting person identification information to the acquired print-job,and outputting the generated authentication-based print-job to theauthentication unit.

According to another aspect of the invention, provided is a method forexecuting authentication-based printing in accordance with anauthentication-based print-job with respect to both a first printingdevice and a second printing device, the authentication-based print-jobbeing configured by adding to a print job in a first format that can beprocessed by the first printing device or a print-job in a second formatthat can be processed by the second printing device, the second formatbeing a format that cannot be processed by the first printing device ora format with no information for specifying a printing person added,identification information for either a user who has ordered thatprint-job or another user specified as a printing person, as printingperson identification information, the method including: acquiring theauthentication-based print-job; extracting from the acquiredauthentication-based print-job the printing person identificationinformation and the print-job, and storing them in a storage module inassociation with each other; executing authentication for a user whorequests execution of printing; referring to the storage module, andselecting a print-job associated with the printing person identificationinformation for the authenticated user; and outputting the selectedprint-job to the first printing device or the second printing device.

Each method according to an aspect of the invention can be implementedin an authentication-based printing system, an authentication-basedprint-job generation unit, and an authentication unit, by their relevantcomputers, and computer programs for that implementation can beinstalled or loaded on the computer (for example, a host device, anauthentication server, an information processing unit in the printingdevice) via various media such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk orsemiconductor memory, or via a communication network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of anauthentication-based printing system 1 according to a first embodimentof the invention;

FIGS. 2A to 2C are block diagrams illustrating the functionalconfigurations of a host device 10, a printer device 20 and anauthentication server 30;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an authentication-based printingstructure (authentication-based printing instruction) in theauthentication-based printing system 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an authentication-based printingstructure (authentication-based printing execution) in theauthentication-based printing system 1;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a screen used for specifying a printingperson;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a table storing the correlation betweenprint-jobs and additional information such as printing personidentification information; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a table associating authenticationinformation with printing person identification information.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of anauthentication-based printing system 1 according to an embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 1, the authentication-based printing system1 includes: a host device 10; a printer device 20A; a printer device 20Bthat can process print-jobs in formats that cannot be processed by theprinter device 20A, or print-jobs in formats with no user informationadded, or both; and an authentication server 30. These devices areconfigured to communicate with each other via a communication network N(N may be, for example, a LAN, internet, dedicated line, packetcommunication network, or any combination thereof, and both wired andwireless networks may be used). In FIG. 1, the authentication-basedprinting system 1 includes one host device 10, one printer device 20A,another printer device 20B, and one authentication server 30, but theauthentication-based printing system 1 may be configured to include anynumber of those devices according to the system design.

The host device 10 is configured to include hardware resources such as aCPU (processor), ROM, RAM, an I/O controller, a communication interfaceand a HDD, and the CPU is configured to be able to access each modulevia a bus.

The host device 10 is provided with the same functions as normalinformation processing devices such as normal personal computers. Forexample, the host device 10 has: an I/O module 11 for receiving variousinputs from, and also outputting information to, a user via the I/Ocontroller; a communication module 12 for sending/receiving variouskinds of data to/from other devices via the communication interface;printer driver modules 13A and 13B for controlling the printer devices;and a port monitor 14 (see FIG. 2). The functions of those modules arerealized by the CPU executing programs stored, for example, in the ROM,RAM or HDD in the host device 10, or in external storage media.

The printer driver modules 13A and 13B provided correspond to theprinter devices 20A and 20B respectively, and each has a function thatgenerates print-jobs in formats that can be processed by itscorresponding printer device, like normal printer drivers. For example,when an application program running on the host device 10 makes aprinting request specifying the printer device 20A, the printer drivermodule 13A generates a print-job in accordance with a printer controllanguage that can be interpreted by the printer device 20A, andtransfers the generated job to the port monitor 14.

The port monitor 14 has the same functions that normal port monitorshave. For example, the port monitor 14 has: a setting/monitoring module15 for setting and monitoring the status of the printer devices 20A and20B, etc., using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol); a jobacquisition module 16 that receives print-jobs from the printer drivermodules 13A and 13B; and a job output module 17 that outputs print-jobsto the corresponding printer devices using a RAW printing protocol, anLPR printing protocol, or other such protocols, when normal printing isto be executed.

However, the port monitor 14 in this embodiment is different fromconventional ones in that it is configured to have a module 18 foracquiring, with respect to the print-job (original print-job) that thejob acquisition module 16 has acquired, identification information foreither the person who has ordered that print-job, or someone specifiedas a printing person by that ordering person, as printing personidentification information, while also being configured so that the joboutput module 17 generates, when authentication-based printing is to beexecuted, an authentication-based print-job by adding the so-acquiredprinting person identification information to the original print-jobthat the job acquisition module 16 has acquired, and then outputs thatauthentication-based print-job to the authentication server 30. Thedetails will be explained later.

The printer devices 20A and 20B are configured the same way normalprinter devices are.

For example, the printer devices 20A and 20B each have a power mechanismunit composed of a paper feeding mechanism for supplying paper into theprinter device, a printer engine for performing print output, and apaper discharging mechanism for ejecting paper to the outside of theprinter device. The printer engine is normally configured to include,for example, a paper rolling mechanism, a carriage mechanism and aprinter head, and various types of printer engines can be used,according to the printer type—serial printers (character printers) thatprint a single character at a time, such as inkjet printers orthermal-transfer printers; line printers that print a single line at atime; page printers that print a single page at a time, and other typesof printers.

Each of the printer devices 20A and 20B also includes an informationprocessing unit for controlling the power mechanism unit and making itexecute printing, the information processing unit being composed of, forexample, a CPU (processor), ROM, RAM, an LCD panel, an LCD controller,and a communication interface. The CPU is configured to be able toaccess each module via a bus, and, for example, controls the powermechanism unit to make it execute actual printing in accordance withprint-jobs sent via the communication interface. The power mechanismunit may independently have its own CPU, and in that case, the CPU inthe power mechanism unit communicates with the CPU in the informationprocessing unit via a parallel interface or similar, and controls theprinter engine to make it execute printing.

The printer devices 20A and 20B have basically the same functions thatconventional printer devices have (see FIG. 2). For example, eachprinter device has: a receiving module 21 that receives print-jobs; ananalysis/image generation module 22 that analyzes those print-jobs togenerate one band or one page of raster print images and store them in aimage buffer; and a print control module 23 that transfers apredetermined unit (e.g. one path) of print images to the printer enginein accordance with the control command in the print-job, and executesprinting by controlling the printer engine. However, as explainedbefore, the printer device 20B is different in that it is configured tobe capable of processing print-jobs in formats that cannot be processedby the printer device 20A, or print-jobs in formats with no userinformation added, or both. The functions of the above-explained modulesare realized by the CPU executing programs stored, for example, in theROM or RAM in the printer device 20 or in other external storage media.

The authentication server 30 is configured to include hardware resourcessuch as a CPU (processor), ROM, RAM, an I/O controller, a communicationinterface, and a HDD, and the CPU is configured to be able to accesseach module via a bus.

Seen from the functional viewpoint, the authentication server 30 has: anI/O module 31 for receiving various inputs from, and also outputtinginformation to, a user via the I/O controller; a module 32 for acquiringan authentication-based print-job from (the port monitor 14 in) the hostdevice 10; a job management module 33 for extracting the print-job(original print-job) and the printing person identification informationfrom the acquired authentication-based print-job, and storing them in aprint-job storage module 37 in association with each other; anauthentication module 34 for executing authentication in accordance withauthentication information acquired from a user requesting execution ofprinting; and a module 35 for recognizing the user that has identifiedthemselves via the authentication as a printing person, referring to theprint-job storage module 37, and selecting an original print-jobassociated with the printing person identification information for thatrecognized printing person; and a module 36 for outputting the selectedoriginal print-job to the corresponding printer device, either 20A or20B (see FIG. 2). The functions of the above modules are realized by theCPU executing programs stored, for example, in the ROM, RAM or HDD inthe authentication server 30 or in other external storage media.

Next, the authentication-based printing structure in theauthentication-based printing system 1 is explained below with referenceto the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The steps (or portions in eachstep with no reference numerals added) may have their order changedarbitrarily, or may be executed in parallel, as long as no operationalconflicts arise.

Authentication-Based Printing Instruction: FIG. 3

When the printer driver module 13A (or 13B) in the host device 10receives a printing request specifying the printer device 20A (or 20B)from an application program running externally or on the host device 10(S100), it generates a print-job (original print-job) in accordance witha specific printer control language that can be interpreted by theprinter device 20A (or 20B) (S101), and transfers the generatedprint-job to the port monitor 14 (S102).

When authentication-based printing is to be executed, and the portmonitor 14 receives the original print-job from the printer drivermodule 13A (or 13B) (S103), the port monitor 14 acquires, with respectto the received original print-job, identification information foreither the user who has ordered that print-job or another user who hasbeen specified as a printing person, as printing person identificationinformation (S104).

The user identification information may be, for example, a login name inthe host device 10. Normally, the user who has ordered the originalprint-job is assumed to be the current login user in the host device 10,so the login name of the user who ordered the original print-job can beacquired, for example, using a function provided by the OS running onthe host device 10. On the other hand, the user who has ordered theoriginal print-job may also specify another user as a printing person.So, the port monitor 14 preferably presents a screen as shown in FIG. 5to the user, where the user can select whether they will be specified asthe printing person, or a different user will be specified as theprinting person, and in the latter case, where the user can also inputprinting person identification information for the specified user, suchas the login name of the specified user.

Next, the port monitor 14 generates an authentication-based print-job byadding the above acquired printing person identification information andother information, such as information specifying a destination printerdevice (e.g. a device model number), to the received original print-job(S105). In addition to the above, various kinds of information, such asinformation concerning a password used for authentication, the documentname, the job ID, the host device name, the start time of printing,printing priority, the number of pages, and the data size, etc., may beadded to the original print-job. Also, the above information may beadded to the original print-job in various ways, for example, in theform of an extra print-job header.

Then, the port monitor 14 outputs the generated authentication-basedprint-job to the authentication server 30, for example, using the RAW orLPR printing protocol (S106).

When receiving the authentication-based print-job from (the port monitor14 in) the host device 10 (S107), the authentication server 30 extractsthe original print-job and the additional information such as theprinting person identification information from the receivedauthentication-based print-job, and stores them in the print-job storagemodule 37 in association with each other (S108). FIG. 6 shows an exampleof a table for storing the above-mentioned correlation between theoriginal print-job and the additional information. That data managementusing a table can be realized via conventional database technologiessuch as a relational database system.

Authentication-Based Printing Execution: FIG. 4

In the authentication-based printing, the authentication server 30authenticates a user who requests execution of printing (S200).

An example of that authentication method is one using authenticationcards. More specifically, if a user requesting execution of printing(“print-requesting user”) enters their authentication card into a cardreader (not shown in the drawing), and if valid authenticationinformation is recorded on the card, that user is interpreted as havingbeen authenticated (that print-requesting user has been identified asthemself). Authentication may also be executed using a password, etc.,input by the print-requesting user from the I/O module 31. If theprint-requesting user has not been authenticated, specific errorinformation is configured to be output via the I/O module 31.

Next, the authentication server 30 refers to the print-job storagemodule 37, and selects any original print-jobs for which the user thathas been authenticated (hereinafter referred to as an “authenticateduser”) has been authorized, in other words, any original print-jobsassociated with the printing person identification information for theauthenticated user (S201).

Here, if the printing person identification information is recorded onthe authentication card as information to be used for authentication,the printing person identification information for the authenticateduser can be obtained by reading their authentication card using a cardreader. On the other hand, if information other than the printing personidentification information, for example, the name of the card holder, isrecorded on the authentication card used for authentication, theprinting person identification information for the authenticated usermay be obtained, for example, by storing a table showing the correlationbetween the information to be used for authentication and the printingperson identification information in the authentication server 30 orother external server in advance, as shown in FIG. 7, and referring tothat same table.

Next, the authentication server 30 presents the list of the aboveselected original print-jobs to the authenticated user via the I/Omodule 31 (S202). If the additional information for theauthentication-based print-job includes, for example, the document name,the list is configured to include that document name. Also, informationabout the printer device specified as the print-job output destinationis preferably presented in the list.

Using the above list, the authenticated user can select an originalprint-job to undergo the printing processing.

If the authentication-based printing system 1 includes several printerdevices of the same type, a screen (window) for selecting a printerdevice is preferably presented to the authenticated user so that theycan select the printer device in which the printing processing is to beperformed. Also, from a security viewpoint, it is better to collect aprinted article [from the printer] immediately after it is printed.However, if the physical locations of the printer devices 20A and 20Bare distant from each other, and if printing is performed using the twodevices simultaneously, it will naturally be difficult to collect theprinted articles immediately after they are printed. In light of thatsituation, the list is preferably configured to present the originalprint-jobs that can be processed by a single printer device (or printerdevices that are located nearby), as selectable original print-jobs.

Next, the authentication server 30 refers to the print-job storagemodule 37, reads the original print-job selected by the authenticateduser, and outputs that print-job to the printer device specified as thedestination for that print-job (printer device 20A or 20B) (S203).Original print-jobs that have already been output to the relevantprinter device are preferably deleted from the print-job storage module37 at a specific time (for example, when receiving a print completionnotice from the printer device, or after a specific period of time haselapsed).

When the printer device 20A (or 20B) receives an original print-job fromthe authentication server 30, it executes the printing processing basedon the original print-job, as is conventionally done (S204). Morespecifically, the printer device 20A (or 20B) analyzes the receivedoriginal print-job, generates a raster print image for one band or forone page and stores them in an image buffer, transfers a specific unit(e.g. one path) of print images from the image buffer to the printerengine, and executes printing by controlling the printer engine.

As described above, this embodiment employs a configuration where theport monitor 14 generates an authentication-based print-job by addingprinting person identification information to a print-job (originalprint-job) output from the printer driver module 13A or 13B, and theauthentication server 30 stores, in accordance with thatauthentication-based print-job, the original print-job and the relevantprinting person identification information in association with eachother. With this configuration, the authentication server 30 can selectany original print-jobs for which an authenticated user has beenauthorized, by referring to the printing person identificationinformation, without the need to interpret the original print-jobsgenerated by the printer driver module 13A or 13B, and accordingly, evenif the original print-jobs are based on private formats, or if theoriginal print-jobs do not include any user information for specifyingthe printing person, in other words, regardless of what format theoriginal print-jobs use, the authentication-based printing function canbe properly provided for a printer device handling those originalprint-jobs.

Furthermore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, theauthentication-based printing structure can be realized without makingany change to conventional configurations concerning the printer drivermodules 13A and 13B, and printer devices 20A and 20B.

Other Embodiments

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and canbe applied with modifications in various ways. For example, the aboveembodiment is explained as an authentication-based printing systemincluding printer devices 20 as printing devices. However, the inventioncan be applied to an authentication-based printing system havingcopiers, facsimile machines, or other complex machines, as printingdevices.

Also, in the above embodiment, the port monitor 14 is configured to havea function that generates authentication-based print-jobs. However, thatfunction may be realized by a functional unit other than the portmonitor 14 (for example, the printer driver module, or somethingexternal to the host device 10).

Also, in the above embodiment, the authentication server 30 is explainedas a unit separate from both of the printer devices 20A and 20B.However, the authentication server 30 may be configured to include atleast either of the printer devices 20A and 20B (i.e., theauthentication server 30 may be configured to have a printing functiontoo).

Also, in the above embodiment, the authentication method employed in theauthentication server 30 is explained as one using authentication cards.However, the invention is not limited to this, and it is possible tochoose any suitable method from among conventional authenticationmethods, and configure the system according to the chosen method. Forexample, the actual authentication processing may be performed at anexternal server by instructing a print-requesting user to input their IDand password and providing that input information to the externalserver.

Also, in the above embodiment, in addition to the printing useridentification information, information for specifying the outputdestination printer device is given as an example of the information tobe added to the original print-jobs. However, for example, if theauthentication server 30 has a different port for receivingauthentication-based print-jobs for each printer device, theauthentication server 30 can determine the output destination printerdevice, without adding information for specifying the output destinationprinter device to the original print-jobs.

As described above, according to the invention, an authentication-basedprinting function can be provided for any printing device, regardless ofwhether the print-jobs to be accepted by that printing device are basedon a publicly disclosed format or not, and also regardless of whetherthe print-jobs include user information or not.

1. An authentication-based printing system providing anauthentication-based printing function for both a first printing deviceand a second printing device, comprising: an authentication-basedprint-job generation unit; and an authentication unit, wherein theauthentication-based print-job generation unit comprises: a firstcentral processing unit configured to access: a job acquisition modulethat is configured to be able to acquire, from a first printer driver, aprint-job in a first format that can be processed by the first printingdevice and, from a second printer driver, a print-job in a second formatthat can be processed by the second printing device, the second formatbeing a format that cannot be processed by the first printing device ora format with no information for specifying a printing person added; amodule that acquires, with respect to the print-job acquired by the jobacquisition module, identification information for either a user who hasordered that print-job or another user specified as a printing person,as printing person identification information; and a module thatgenerates an authentication-based print-job by adding the acquiredprinting person identification information and information specifying adestination printer device to the print-job acquired by the jobacquisition module, and outputs the generated authentication-basedprint-job to the authentication unit, and wherein the authenticationunit comprises: a second central processing unit configured to access: amodule that acquires the authentication-based print-job output from theauthentication-based print-job generation unit; a module that extracts,from the acquired authentication-based print-job, the printing personidentification information, the information specifying the destinationprinter device, and the print-job, and stores them in a storage modulein association with each other; a module that executes authenticationfor a user who requests execution of printing; a module that refers tothe storage module, and selects a print-job associated with the printingperson identification information for the authenticated user; and amodule that outputs the selected print-job to the first or secondprinting device specified by the information specifying the destinationprinter device.
 2. The authentication-based printing system according toclaim 1, wherein the authentication unit is configured to include atleast one of the first printing device and the second printing device.3. An authentication-based print-job generation unit providing, incooperation with an authentication unit, an authentication-basedprinting function for both a first printing device and a second printingdevice, the authentication unit having a first central processing unitconfigured to execute functions for acquiring an authentication-basedprint-job that is configured to include printing person identificationinformation and a print-job output from the authentication-basedprint-job generation unit; extracting from the acquiredauthentication-based print-job the printing person identificationinformation, information specifying a destination printer device, andthe print-job, and storing them in a storage module in association witheach other; executing authentication for a user who requests executionof printing; referring to the storage module and selecting a print-jobassociated with the printing person identification information for theauthenticated user; and outputting the selected print-job to the firstor second printing device specified by the information specifying thedestination printer device, the authentication-based print-jobgeneration unit comprising: a second central processing unit configuredto access: a job acquisition module that is configured to be able toacquire, from a first printer driver, a print-job in a first format thatcan be processed by the first printing device and, from a second printerdriver, a print-job in a second format that can be processed by thesecond printing device, the second format being a format that cannot beprocessed by the first printing device or a format with no informationfor specifying a printing person added; a module that acquires, withrespect to the print-job acquired by the job acquisition module,identification information for either a user who has ordered thatprint-job or another user specified as a printing person, as printingperson identification information; and a module that generates anauthentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing personidentification information and the information specifying thedestination printer device to the print-job acquired by the jobacquisition module, and outputs the generated authentication-basedprint-job to the authentication unit.
 4. An authentication unitproviding, in cooperation with an authentication-based print-jobgeneration unit, an authentication-based printing function for both afirst printing device and a second printing device, theauthentication-based print-job generation unit having a first centralprocessing unit configured to execute functions for acquiring, from afirst printer driver, a print-job in a first format that can beprocessed by the first printing device or, from a second printer driver,a print-job in a second format that can be processed by the secondprinting device, the second format being a format that cannot beprocessed by the first printing device or a format with no informationfor specifying a printing person added; acquiring identificationinformation for either a user who has ordered that acquired print-job oranother user specified as a printing person, as printing personidentification information; and generating an authentication-basedprint-job by adding the acquired printing person identificationinformation and information specifying a destination printing device tothe acquired print-job and outputting the generated authentication-basedprint-job to the authentication unit, the authentication unitcomprising: a second central processing unit configured to access: amodule that acquires the authentication-based print-job output from theauthentication-based print-job generation unit; a module that extractsfrom the acquired authentication-based print-job the printing personidentification information, the information specifying the destinationprinting device, and the print-job, and stores them in a storage modulein association with each other; a module that executes authenticationfor a user who requests execution of printing; a module that refers tothe storage module, and selects a print-job associated with the printingperson identification information for the authenticated user; and amodule that outputs the selected print-job to the first or secondprinting device specified by the information specifying the destinationprinter device.
 5. An authentication-based printing method for both afirst printing device and a second printing device, comprising: underthe control of a first central processing unit of anauthentication-based print-job generation unit: acquiring, from a firstprinter driver a print-job in a first format that can be processed bythe first printing device or, from a second printer driver, a print-jobin a second format that can be processed by the second printing device,the second format being a format that cannot be processed by the firstprinting device or a format with no information for specifying aprinting person added; acquiring, with respect to the acquiredprint-job, identification information for either a user who has orderedthat print-job or another user specified as a printing person, asprinting person identification information; and generating anauthentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing personidentification information and information specifying a destinationprinter device to the acquired print-job, and outputting the generatedauthentication-based print-job to an authentication unit, and under thecontrol of a second central processing unit of the authentication unit:acquiring the authentication-based print-job output from theauthentication-based print-job generation unit; extracting from theacquired authentication-based print-job the printing personidentification information, the information specifying the destinationprinter device and the print-job, and storing them in a storage modulein association with each other; executing authentication for a user whorequests execution of printing; referring to the storage module, andselecting a print-job associated with the printing person identificationinformation for the authenticated user; and outputting the selectedprint-job to the first or second printing device specified by theinformation specifying the destination printer device.
 6. A method foroutputting an authentication-based print-job to an authentication unitthat provides an authentication-based printing function for both a firstprinting device and a second printing device, the method comprising:acquiring, by a first central processing unit, from a first printerdriver, a print-job in a first format that can be processed by the firstprinting device or, from a second printer driver, a print-job in asecond format that can be processed by the second printing device, thesecond format being a format that cannot be processed by the firstprinting device or a format with no information for specifying aprinting person added; acquiring, by the first central processing unit,with respect to the acquired print-job, identification information foreither a user who has ordered that print-job or another user specifiedas a printing person, as printing person identification information; andgenerating, by the first central processing unit, anauthentication-based print-job by adding the acquired printing personidentification information and information specifying a destinationprinter device to the acquired print-job, and outputting the generatedauthentication-based print-job to the authentication unit, theauthentication unit providing the authentication-based printing functionin accordance with the generated authentication-based print-job.
 7. Amethod for executing authentication-based printing in accordance with anauthentication-based print-job with respect to both a first printingdevice and a second printing device, the authentication-based print-jobbeing generated by adding to a print job, from a first printer driver.in a first format that can be processed by the first printing device ora print-job, from a second printer driver, in a second format that canbe processed by the second printing device, the second format being aformat that cannot be processed by the first printing device or a formatwith no information for specifying a printing person added,identification information for either a user who has ordered thatprint-job or another user specified as a printing person, as printingperson identification information, and information specifying adestination printer device, the method comprising: acquiring, by a firstcentral processing unit, the generated authentication-based print-job;extracting, by the first central processing unit, from the acquiredauthentication-based print-job the printing person identificationinformation, the information specifying the destination printer device,and the print-job, and storing them in a storage module in associationwith each other; executing, by the first central processing unit,authentication for a user who requests execution of printing; referring,by the first central processing unit, to the storage module, andselecting a print-job associated with the printing person identificationinformation for the authenticated user; and outputting the selectedprint-job to the first or second printing device specified by theinformation specifying the destination printer device.
 8. Anon-transitory computer-readable recording medium in which a program forcausing a computer system to execute the method according to claim 5 isrecorded.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium inwhich a program for causing a computer system to execute the methodaccording to claim 6 is recorded.
 10. A non-transitory computer-readablerecording medium in which a program for causing a computer system toexecute the method according to claim 7 is recorded.